The present disclosure relates to a heating circuit assembly, and more particularly, to an additive manufactured heating circuit assembly and method of manufacture.
Heating circuits are used in many products in the automotive and aviation industries as two, non-limiting, examples. Such products may include defrosting of windshields, comfort applications such as heating of automotive steering wheels, armrests, seats, side panels and floors, and de-icing and anti-icing applications such as aircraft wings and nacelles. Known heating circuits are typically made by photochemically etching metallic alloy foils on a substrate and subsequently built into electro thermal heater composites. Unfortunately, this method of manufacture may suffer from insufficient repeatability due to over or under-etching, photoresist alignment issues, delamination of the photoresists, poor adhesion to the substrate and other issues. Also, the process is time and labor intensive, and can result in a significant amount of chemical waste. Yet further, application of the heating circuit assembly to a three-dimensional component is limited, and the need for structurally competent designs consistent with weight restrictions continues to present challenges in the industry.